Play pen



Feb. 8, .1944. K, EATON 2,341,366

PLAY PEN Filed June 11, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3d ,ab

FB a 5 "'5 4 E 2b m t /Za I74 14 1: i l 2a 1! 1% E /9 E5 2 4 INVENTOR.

. I M Karl fierwarafdfofl BY M AT TORNE Y5 K. B. EATON Feb. 8, 1944.

PLAY PEN s sheet s-she e c 3 Filed June 11, 1941 INVENTCR. mr/ Ber/7am [am/7 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 8, 1944 PLAY PEN Karl Bernard Eaton, ootacamund, Nilghiri Hills,

South India Application'June 11, 1941, Serial No. 397,580

' (c1. ass- 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a pen for confining young children while at pl'ay'and an object thereof is to provide a play pen which may be quickly and easily collapsed into a compact unit which takes up only a small space and may be readily stored away or transported. The invention is especially adapted to the construction of play pens for use by children who travel and which may be readily stored in the trunk of an automobile or the passenger cabin of a ship.

In accordance with the aforementioned object, the play pen comprises four similar rectangular sides or sections which form the sides of a square enclosure within them and are arranged to confine a child therein.

,In accordance with another feature of the invention, each of the side sections comprises upper and lower parallel slats, the upper slat being firmly supported near its ends by means of a pair of diagonally arranged strips which cross each other and are pivotally connected together at their point of intersection. By disconnecting one end of each strip from its attached slat, the upper slat may be lowered until it is close to the lower slat and the side section collapsed into a small space.

A still further object of the invention lies in theprovision of means whereby the several side sections are connected witheach other in such a manner that they may be folded together either before or after they have been collapsed vertically, the entire play pen when thus folded being very compact and being capable of beingstowed into a small space during itsshipment from the manufacturer to the dealer or during transportation by the user while traveling.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of means for preventing a child placed in the play pen from crawling out thereof between or under the slats and strips. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, this is accomplished by a series of closely spaced vertical tapes which are attached to the horizontal slats at their upper and lower ends. The spacing between the tapes is preserved and they are prevented from being pulled further apart at their centers by means. of one or more fabric belts which run around the play pen and are connecteclto each of the several tapes by suitable means. 1

Other features of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction and economy of manufeature. The main members of the play pen are preferably made of light wood so that the entire assemblage weighs only a few pounds and is easily handled during assembly or while collapsing it. For abetter description of the invention,.

reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front view of a childs play pen embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view showing the play pen of Fig. 1- after collapsing it vertically, certain parts being omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the play pen shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View partly insection showing on an enlarged scale the connections between the members at the lower left-hand corner of the play pen of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1 showing the front portion of the play pen;

Fig. 6 is a partly diagrammatic plan view of the play pen shown in Fig. 2 when partly folded up;

Fig. 7 is a partly diagrammatic plan view similar to Fig. 6 showing the play pen after it has been completely folded up; and

Fig. 8 is an end view on a reduced scale of the folded play pen shown in Fig. '7.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the play pen embodying the present invention comprises four vertical sections indicated at A, B, C, and D, these sections being similar and the corresponding parts thereof being denoted by the same numerals and also a letter corresponding to the appropriate section. Section A comprises upper and lower horizontal slats la and 2a of equal length and a pair of diagonal bracing strips 3a and 4a which are pivotally connected together at their center by a bolt 5a or other securing means. The slats and strips composing the several sections of the play pen are preferably made of light wood or other light material so that the weight of the entire assemblage may be kept to a minimum to permit the play pen to be easily handled for the purpose of assembly and transportation. The bracing strip 4a is-pivotally connected to the slat 2a by means of a hinge Ea, the end of the strip 4a being cutat such an angle,

' as indicated at la, so that its end lies flat against the upper surface of the slat 2a when the play pen is assembled as shown in Figure l. The upper end of the bracing strip 4a is seated in a correspondingly shaped notch 8a provided near the left-hand end of the slat la, this notch ex tending rearwardly for substantially half the thickness of the member la and the upper end of the bracing strip 4a being secured therein by means of a spring latch- 9a similar to a spring latch 13a to be later described, The upper end of the strip 3a is pivotally connected to the slat Ia by means of a hinge Hla, the end of the strip 3a being cut horizontal, as indicated at I Ia, to seat against the lower surface of the strip |a when the pen is assembled, as shown in Fig. l. The lower end of the strip 3a is seated in a correspondingly shaped notch I 2a provided in the rear portion near the end of the s1at 2a. To look the endv of the brace 3a to the slat 2a, a spring latch |3a is provided as shown in Fig. 4, the spring being secured to the slat Ed by the nails or screws i4 and being bent to extend through the registered holes IM and lEa provided in the slat 2a and strip 3a respectively, The rear end of the spring latch -|3a is provided with an enlarged head portion, as indicated at ll'a, which becomes seated against the rear surface of the strip 3a to retain it in position. The head Ila of the spring is slightly smaller than the diameter of the hole |6a to permit the lower end of the strip 311 of being disconnected from the they may be secured thereto by means of stud bolts and wing nuts or by a metal slot with a spring at its erect position, which spring snaps over the acute angle at the top of the strip 4a or the bottom of the strip 3a. For the purpose of securing the left-hand ends of the slats Ia and 2d of section A to the front ends of the slats Ib and 2b of section B, each of the latter members is provided with a stud bolt l8 as shown in Figure 4, adapted to receive a wing nut I9, the bolt I8 passing through a hole provided in the front slat member 2a.

To prevent a child placed in the play pen from crawling under or between the bracing strips and la, the pen is provided with a plurality of spaced vertical tapes 2| whose upper ends lap over the top of the slat la and whose lower ends lap over the lower edge of the slat 2a, as shown in Fig. 5, the ends of the tapes 2| being secured by any suitable securing means, as by means of the tacks 22. Embracing the tapes 2| around the four sides of the play pen is a horizontal belt 23 which is secured to the several tapes 2| as by means of the rivets or grommets 24, the ends of the belt 23 overlapping and being secured together by means of a snap button 25. The vertical tapes 2| and the belt 23 are preferably formed of canvas braid which is sufficiently flexible to permit a play pen to be readily collapsed and folded up in a manner to be described. While only a single belt 23 has been shown connecting the tapes 2|, it will be understood that they may be connected by means of a plurality of similar belts evenly spaced apart with respect to the vertical length of the tapes 2|.

Section Bis pivotally connected to section C by means of a pair of hinges 26, as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and 8, the upper hinge being connected to the inner faces of the slats lb and |c and the lower hinge to the inner faces of the slats 2b and 20. Section C is pivotally connected to section D by means of a pair of hinges 27, as shown in Figures 3, 6, and 8. The upper hinge is connected to the outer surfaces of the slats lo and id and the lower hinge to the outer surfaces of the slats 2c and 2d. Section A is connected to section D by means of a pair of hinges 28, as shown in Figures 3, 6, and 8. The upper hinge is connected to the inner surfaces of the slats Ia and ld and the lower hinge connected to the inner surfaces of the slats. 2a and. 2d.

To collapse the play pen the snap button 25 is disconnected to free the ends of the belt 23 and the wingnuts |9 unscrewed from the stud bolts l8 and the slats Ia and 2a withdrawn from the ends of slats lb and 2b. The spring 9a is then bent'and the upper end of the bracing strip 4a withdrawn from the notch 8a in slat la. The lower end of the bracing strip 3a is then withdrawn from the notch |2a in slat 202 by slightly bending the spring |3a so that the head Ila thereof will pass through the hole |6a in the bracing strip 3a as the latter is withdrawn. The bracing strips of sections B, C, and D are disengaged in a similar manner to that described whereupon the upper portion of the play pen v comprising the slats la, lb, lo, and Id may be collapsed vertically into a position closely adjacent to the base portion of the pen comprising the slats 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d as shown in Figure 2. The belt 23 and the vertical tapes 2| have been omitted in this figure and also in Figures 6 to 8 for the purpose of clarity. After the play pen has been thus vertically collapsed, the section B is folded against the section C about the hinges 26 and the section A next folded against section D about the hinges 28, Figure 6 illustrating positions assumed by these sections before they are completely folded over. After this folding operation is completed, the sections B and C together are folded about the hinge 2! until they lie closely If desired, he tapes 2| may be secured to the inner or outer surfaces alone of the several slats |a, 2a, etc., instead of passing over their outer surfaces in the manner above described. Also a floor of any suitable type (not shown) may be provided for the pen, any suitable securing means being provided for the purpose of securing the floor to the lower slats 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d.

In order to provide adequate means for enclosing and securing the folded play pen as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 while traveling or during transportation thereof, a suitable container, for example, a canvas bag provided'with a handle and of shape similar to the folded play pen may be provided.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims,

I claim:

1. A play pen comprising four similar rectangular sections, each section having spaced upper and lower horizontal slats the upper slats of the four sectionsv being of the same size and shape and the lower slats of the four sections being of the same size and shape, bracing members pivotally connected to said slats and arranged to support the upper slat and to permit the upper slat to be lowered into close proximity to the lower slat and means connecting the several sections arranged'to' permit the several sections to befolded together.

2. A play pen as set forth in claim 1 in-which the bracing members are arranged diagonally of each section, means for pivotally connecting the bracing members together and securing means for connecting the ends of the bracing members to the upper and lower slats, said securing means being arranged to permit the ready detachment of the ends of the bracing members from the slats whereby the bracing members may be folded about their pivotal connecting means and the upper slats of the several sections lowered into a position closely adjacent to the lower slats thereof.

3. A play pen as set forth in claim 1 in which the bracing members are arranged diagonally of each section and the ends thereof are seated in correspondingly shaped notches provided in the upper and lower slats.

4. A play pen as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper and lower slats of each section are connected together by means of a plurality of spaced vertical flexible tapes and the bracing members are arranged diagonally of each section.

5. A play pen as set forth in claim 1 in which a plurality of spaced flexible tapes have their ends secured to the upper and lower slats of the several pen sections and a flexible member connected to the flexible tapes at points near the centers thereof and arranged to preserve desired spacing between the tapes.

6. A play pen comprising four similar rectangular sections, each section having spaced upper and lower horizontal slats, bracing members pivotally connected to said slats and arranged to support the upper slat and to permit the upper slat to be lowered into close proximity to the lower slat and a pair of hinges connecting the upper slats and the lower slats of adjacent sections of the pen at each of three corners thereof whereby the four sections may be folded together while remaining connected by thethree pairs of hinges.

7. A play pen comprising four similar rectangular sections, each section having spaced upper and lower horizontal slats and a pair of diagonally arranged bracing members; hinges 

